He met my gaze, and I sat there, watching the crease of his brow tighten into a twisted knot. "You imagined the whole thing."
"Liar!"
"Charlotte..."
"Let me out of here." I shoved his hand away and scrambled to the door. My fingers found the latch, flicking it open, and I stumbled outside.
"What are you...?"
I slammed the door on him and took off over the metal guardrail. The slope dropped instantaneously and my pathetic excuse for sneakers skidded and dug at the loose soil. I landed on my butt and began to slide. My hands burned as I tried to slow my momentum, shoveling up piles of damp leaves, stone, and dirt. I heard the car door open and close somewhere behind me.
"Leave me alone," I called out, just as I managed to stop myself. Scrambling to my feet, I took off through the branches, not caring which direction I headed. I had to get away from him. My eyes burned from the run, and when I wiped them with my sleeve, I found my arm damp.
I hated him.
A faint rustling came from behind me and I knew it was Liam. I forced myself to keep moving, even though my lungs felt raw and my thighs ached. I ducked under a low hanging limb and pushed through a dry thorny bush. It snagged at my jeans, holding me its prisoner for a moment, until I snapped its spiny tendrils, and stamped it down with my feet. I stopped short. The river I had seen, gurgled and rolled in front of me, hopping over rocks as it rounded the bend. I refused to be trapped.
Several rocks jutted out between the current and I went for it. My sneakers did no better on their wet surface, but I managed to keep my balance as I worked my way to the second one, and then the third. Only one remained, but when my foot touched it, the stone rolled. My ankle twisted, and with a loud groan, I fell.
A hand grasped my arm, pulling me up before I even hit the water. Knives of pain shot up my calf, and I winced, stumbling forward.
"Hold still. I got you," Liam said.
"I don't need your help." I jerked my shoulder free of him and then nearly cried out as I tried to put pressure on my foot.
"Don't move. You probably sprained it." He wrapped one arm under me, pulling me to his chest, while he scooped my legs up with the other. I felt humiliated, but in all truth, it really did hurt too much to walk.
Liam splashed through the water, soaking his shoes, and then placed me down on the edge of the bank. Without acknowledging him, I pulled my pant leg up, to investigate the damage. I couldn't see anything, but the slightest touch made me flinch.
He plopped down next to me on the damp dirt. Without even turning, I felt him watching me. "What were you thinking anyway, Charlotte? Were you really going to find your way home through the woods?"
I shot him a glare. "Yes.
"But you hate the woods."
"It was a better alternative than being in your car."
His expression fell and his fingers picked at the dirt. "Charlotte, I..."
"How could you say that to me, Liam?" I grabbed a pile of mossy, soaked leaves and chucked it at him. "You know what that means to me. You lied to me."
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" I asked with a bemused snort.
"You don't understand. I had to." He stopped fiddling with the dirt.
"People always have choices, Liam."
He looked up at me from under his ashen hair, his deep, slowly melting hues told me more than words. I swallowed hard. "You're not human, are you?"
He froze, seemingly timeless, like a forgotten statue left to stand alone under the fallen leaves. "No."
My mind spun. I took a deep breath and tilted my chin up to catch the late afternoon sun cascading down through the branches, trying to hold onto my sanity. "What are you?" I whispered. My body felt cold.
"A wolf."
The drumming of my pulse drowned out the babbling of the river. Everything had been true. I had known all along. The musky scent of pine, the way he moved around me, and those golden hues. I knew them. I knew him. Had it been him all along? I started to tremble.
Liam caught my hands and held them fast. "It wasn't me. I didn't attack you. I'd never hurt you. You have to believe me, Charlotte. Please. Look at me."
"I can't."
A twig snapped somewhere behind me and Liam stiffened.
"Shh." Liam put his finger to my lips, silencing me.
"This isn't helping with my nerves, Liam." He didn't answer; his attention on something over my shoulder. "Liam?"
"Don't move," he whispered.
I had opened my mouth to protest when I heard it. Soft padded footsteps inched closer. I wanted to turn, but I couldn't. Everything in me shook as Liam shifted his body from where he sat next to me, into a half crouch, his hands splayed on both sides of my legs. His attention focused with pin point intensity on something behind me. I didn't even know if he realized I still sat there. The dampness from the soil seeped through the thin material of my shirt as I instinctively inched down away from the uncomfortable proximity of Liam's chest. A thick cloud of musky pine invaded my nose and then a low rumble reverberated from his throat.
My muscles quivered so badly, they hurt.
Another growl joined his and I wanted to scream. I opened my mouth, but nothing came. My focus squared on Liam's hands. Long sharp claws broke through from under his fingernails, slicing down into the dirt.
This isn't real. This isn't real.
Liam's shoulders shook and the soft crack of steps moved closer. In my mind I saw jowls tearing into my flesh, opening my scar. This time, I screamed...and then the world went dark.
Chapter 8
The sound of clanging pots stirred me from my murky state of consciousness. Where was I? My hand moved to my scar. The rough, dry skin told me no one had reopened my wound. Had I imagined the whole thing?
A soothing combination of scents hit my nose, chamomile, honey, and pine. Musky pine. My eyes flew open and I sat up, shifting to put my feet on the floor. I instantly regretted doing the latter. I bit my lip to keep from crying out, the movement on my ankle killing me.
Liam appeared at my side, ushering me to lean back on the couch against the pillows. "It's okay. Relax. I'm making you some tea."
"Wolves drink tea?"
Liam smiled down at me. "It calms the nerves," he said. He moved back away from me and headed into the kitchen. I heard him turn the water on and off and then place what must have been the pot on the stove.
I turned my head to the side of the pillow as I took in the room. A small scuffed up coffee table sat in front of where I lay on the couch. The rest of the living area appeared sparse, except for a few large body sized pillows haphazardly thrown about the floor. At the far end of the wall, a large stone fireplace reached up, disappearing through the thick beams that ran horizontally along the ceiling.
"Where are we?" I asked.
Liam returned, sitting down on the coffee table across from me, and extended a large steaming mug. "My house," he said, placing a matching cup down beside him.
I slowly took the mug from him and paused to inhale the sweet damp steam. It did help. "You have a house?" I asked.
Liam smirked slightly and then leaned forward on his knees. "Don't act so surprised."
I took a sip of the tea, rolled its smooth taste over my tongue, and then swallowed. "Sorry," I said. "It's just, I'm trying to wrap my head around this whole," I paused, "wolf thing." I nervously tapped the handle of my mug. "I didn't imagine that, did I?"
"No," Liam said. The corner of his lip turned up. "And I'm not always in wolf form, Charlotte." He motioned with his head for me to look at the way he was dressed. My gaze followed, noticing the way he sat made his faded gray tee shirt hug his abs. I quickly looked up, and covered by drinking some more tea. The subject needed to be changed.